


Just like a SNL Skit

by reylotrash711



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Acting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Saturday Night Live Fusion, Background GingerRose, Ben is an actor, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, Love, Love Story, M/M, Minor Angst, No Pregnancy, Rey is a screenwriter, Romance, Smut, TV shows - Freeform, blink and you'll miss it stormpilot, proposal, snl, they meet on SNL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:27:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25113115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reylotrash711/pseuds/reylotrash711
Summary: A Reylo SNL AU inspired by this prompt bygalacticidiotsRey is a writer on Saturday Night Live. Ben is the famous guest of the week.They meet on Monday, get into an argument on Tuesday, engage in friendly banter on Wednesday, flirt on Thursday and kiss on Friday.Saturday night, after the show is done, Rey takes him home.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Kylo Ren
Comments: 63
Kudos: 199





	1. Monday

**Author's Note:**

> Woooooo I finally wrote this fic! This is probably one of my favourite fics I have ever written, I adored writing it. I will be posting the chapters daily throughout the week. 
> 
> Thank you to Cecilia for beta reading this fic, I had so much fun chatting with you about this one!  
> You can check out her [AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceciliasheplin/works) to read her amazing stories

It had been a difficult morning, to say the least. She had slept through her alarm, waking up half an hour late, meaning she was forced to skip breakfast and only had time to quickly hop in the shower and get dressed before rushing out of her apartment in a panic to get to the train. She was writing this week and she really couldn’t be late today. 

Much to her dismay, it was chucking it down with rain and her umbrella was still at Finn’s so she was forced to run the three blocks from her apartment building to the subway in the pouring rain, soaking wet by the time she got onto the platform. 

It seemed New York transportation wasn’t on her side either. Her usual train was cancelled meaning she had to catch another and change. After a far too stressful hour journey, she finally made it to the office twenty minutes late soaking wet and in a very sour mood. 

“Rey! You made it, god you look a sight.” Rose said as she came in.

“Wow, thanks.” Rey mumbled, peeling off her coat and hanging it across the radiator, “You don’t by any chance have a sweater or something I could borrow?” 

“Sure!” Rose said, her tone strangely cheery and excitable for a Monday morning. Rey followed the woman to her office, noticing the slight skip in her step as she walked. Had she missed something? On a morning as dreadful as this one, Rey couldn’t see a reason for anyone to be so joyful as the rain hammered down outside and the sky was dark and grey. In her office, Rose pulled out a turquoise sweater from a draw at the bottom of her desk. “Do you always keep clothes in here?” Rey asked as Rose turned around so Rey could pull on the garment. 

“Usually in case of emergencies, proved to be useful today though.”

“I guess so.” said Rey, tossing her wet shirt to the floor, “Alright I’m done.”

Rose turned, a shit-eating grin across her face, “What?” Rey asked suspiciously. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what today is.” said Rose.

Rey raised her brow in suspicion, “Why? What’s today?” 

Rose rolled her eyes, letting out a scoff, “A certain actor arrives today to start preparing for Saturday’s show.” For a moment, Rey hesitated and racked her brain for who this week’s guest was. 

That’s when it dawned on Rey. This week, one of Rose’s favourite actors happened to be presenting the show. The woman had been ecstatic and hadn’t stopped talking about the man for months now. Rey hadn’t paid too much attention, she never really did. She wrote the scripts and they did the rest: brought it to life but other than that Rey felt as though she had very little reason to engage. She couldn’t even remember this man’s name. She knew if she saw his face she would recognise him, he was in some of the big space movies that she had seen a few of, played a chap called Kylo Ren if she remembered correctly. Rey made a mental note to pay attention to the credits more. 

“Oh yeah!” she said, “What’s his name again? Something Soro?” Rey really wasn’t very good at remembering names, especially when she didn’t particularly care. 

Rose groaned, slumping back in her chair, “Ben Solo you uncultured swine! Was nominated for the oscar last season but got beaten by the clown!” she exclaimed in mock frustration. 

Rey sighed, “Of course I remember that you were mourning for at least a week.” she remembered that week well, Rose had been a mixture of angry and sad, feeling as if the oscar had been taken from herself rather than the Solo man. “What’s the big deal anyway? You never usually get this way about the guests.” 

“What’s the big deal?!” Rose practically shouted, jumping up in her chair, “The big deal is that he is Ben fucking Solo! He is the greatest actor of his generation!” 

Rey took a cautious step back, worried that Rose was about to throw something at her head. Rose was a crazy fangirl when it came to Ben Solo. Rey knew how obsessed she was with his space films in particular, in love with a particular pairing between one of Solo’s characters and a woman she believed was called Kira. On several occasions, Rose had forced her to watch these space battle films with her, dragging her to the cinema. Unfortunately, the last film had really “fucked his character over.” after killing Kylo Ren, separating the couple. Very often, Rose would start ranting about the final “shit pile” film, cursing the directors and writers. Rey had been forced to unfollow Rose on Twitter after her timeline started being flooded by angry rants and petitions to have the character’s story continued. 

“Seriously calm down, dude, he’s just a guy who happens to have made it in the film industry. Don’t go all… well  _ you _ when he arrives.” 

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Rose argued, “I will be completely calm and professional.” 

Rey rolled her eyes at her best friend’s obsession, “Well you better calm down now cause he’ll be here for the pitch soon.”

Rose’s eyes widened, her hands moving to straighten her blouse, “Oh god! How do I look?” she asked nervously. 

Shaking her head, Rey opened the door to leave, “Positively dreadful.” she said before sauntering out the room with a sly grin across her face. 

“REY I’M SERIOUS! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF MY LIFE EVER!” Rose called out down the hall. Rey chuckled, still unable to understand what the big deal about this man was…

-🎥-

When Ben Solo entered the room, Rey saw Rose’s eyes widened across the room, her hands shaking as the actor approached the director Amilyn and shaking her hand. “Benjamin, how lovely to see you again.” she said, pulling the man into a hug. 

Rey arched an eyebrow, she didn’t know their director had met the world-famous actor before. The man responded with a smile, “Nice to see you too, Auntie, Mom sends her love.” he said. 

Hmm, seems as though they had known each other a while. 

Amilyn walked around the room with him, introducing to all the writers, producers, anyone who was in the room really. Rey watched as each person seemed to be quite starstruck by this man, all of them enthusiastically shaking his hand and asking him questions about the space movies, many of which he wasn’t allowed to answer. 

When Amilyn introduced him to Rose, her best friend practically melted, unable to speak as she shook his hand, eyes wide and beaming. Solo chuckled nervously, “It’s nice to meet you.” he said politely.

Rose nodded, opening her mouth to speak but unable to form words. Deciding she really shouldn’t allow her best friend to make a fool of herself, as funny as it was, Rey swooped in to rescue her friend. 

“Hey, I’m Rey.” she said, shaking the man’s hand, feeling a slight tingle against her skin as their hands met. 

“I’m Ben.” he said in response, his eyes looking into hers in a way that made her breath catch in her throat slightly. What was wrong with her? She seriously needed to get a grip, she wasn’t one of his crazy fangirls. Pulling her hand away, she put an arm around Rose, shaking her slightly, “And this is Rose, she’s a big fan of your space movies.”

Ben nodded in understanding, “Hello, Rose.” he said kindly. 

“H-Hi.” Rose stuttered. 

Amilyn chuckled, “Come on, Benji, let’s not hang around.” she intercepted, leading him away. 

“Guess I’ll see you soon, Rose.” he said, his gaze moving to Rey, “And you, Rey, I hope we can get to know each other better.” He walked away, eyes on her before he turned to take a seat.

Rey felt herself blush at his comment, her mind racing as she took in his words. It threw her off. She wasn’t one of his silly fangirls, why the hell was she reacting this way? 

_ Get a grip, Rey! He’s just a guy!  _ Her mind shouted at her. A reasonable answer would be that he was just being nice, that it was something he said to everyone. Yes, that’s what it was. She turned to Rose who looked like she’d seen a ghost, “You alright?” she asked, giving her a nudge.

Rose nodded slowly, “Wow.” she whispered. 

Rey laughed, “Come on, you crazy woman, let’s get a move on with these pitches.” she said, dragging her to where everyone was waiting and taking their seats. They slid on either side of Finn, one of the actors who worked on the show weekly. “Morning, Rose, how are you this morning?” he asked. 

Rose let out a noise that Rey could only describe as a breathless squeal. Finn broke into fits of laughter, “Oh, you are not going to make it through this week.” Rose sunk back into her seat, covering her face in embarrassment. Across the table, Ben was engrossed in a conversation with another actor and Finn’s boyfriend, Poe. He looked up, catching her eye, a small smile quirking his lips. Rey jumped slightly, quickly looking down at the paper in front of her for note-taking. If she didn’t get her act together, she wasn’t going to be able to focus. 

The meeting began with Amilyn giving an overview of some scripts the team had planned, Ben chiming in every few minutes with his enthusiasm and approval, an occasional ripple of laughter floating through the room as they discussed jokes and humour for the skits. When they reached her skit, Rey found herself feeling slightly more nervous than she usually did. 

“Rey, would you mind pitching everyone your suggestions?” Amilyn asked with her usual welcoming and calm demeanour. 

Suddenly, all eyes were on her and Rey felt herself feeling slightly awkward as she opened her folder to the notes she had made the week before. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she began to read to the room, “The skit begins with a familial setting, a group of couples playing games, on the sofa is a man. Ben, I suppose this is you, his wife and one of their friends who is the only single one in the room. Gwen, maybe you could take this part? Anyway, the group are playing a game where they have to guess which movies famous quotes come from. Ben and Gwen’s characters start getting really into it and throughout the skit, Ben slowly starts moving closer and closer, away from his wife and toward Gwen. They are the only ones getting the answers correctly and have chemistry building between them, they start to flirt with each other. Gwen says things such as, ‘You have big dick energy.’ to which Ben replies with ‘That’s because it is.’ Rey cringed slightly at that, regretting her decision to put such a thing in the script. To her relief, the room, Ben included, broke into fits of laughter. Rey took it as a green light to continue, “He calls her his ‘little quote Queen.’ to which she replies with ‘big flick daddy.’ before proceeding to make out with each other.”

As she finished, the group broke into chatter, making comments and suggestions. “I think it sounds good, what do you think, Ben?” Amilyn asked, turning to the actor. 

Ben nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I think it’s great, I look forward to reading the rest, Rey.” 

Okay, he was definitely attractive that was for sure. The way he was so interested in what she had to say, in her ideas, she should be flattered that someone who has worked with some of the greatest screenwriters of all time and he liked  _ her  _ work. He seemed to be a decent man, she supposed she was looking forward to talking to him more throughout the week. 


	2. Tuesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And the way he looked at you!”
> 
> That captured her attention, “What do you mean?” Rey asked curiously. 
> 
> Rose rolled her eyes, “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
> 
> Yes, she did notice. She most definitely noticed.
> 
> “Notice what?” She lied. 

When Rey entered the writer’s room on Tuesday morning, she was feeling slightly better than she did the day before. She and Rose walked into the room together, ready to get a start on the skits. There had been a number of ideas thrown around the day before, including a suggestion from Ben that they make a sequel to a skit he had made the first time he had presented the show, a couple of years before Rey had started working. They also had an idea to collaborate with this week’s artist to create a song involving a tortoise and Ben singing very slowly. 

Rose had been flooding her phone all night, sending her a ridiculous text including “Is it weird to buy him coffee?” and “I think I may faint if he shakes my hand again.” By the time it got to 1 am and the texts were still constant, Rey put her phone on silent and went to bed. She woke up to 93 unread texts. 

“Isn’t he just so nice?” Rose said as they took their seats, not many people had arrived so they had the table to themselves for the moment. Rey pulled out her folder, turning to the first skit’s notes, barely listening as Rose continued her rabid fangirling. “And the way he looked at you!”

That captured her attention, “What do you mean?” Rey asked curiously. 

Rose rolled her eyes, “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”

Yes, she did notice. She most definitely noticed.

“Notice what?” She lied. 

Rose pulled her chair to face her, placing her hands on Rey’s shoulders as she shook her, “You idiot! He was totally making eyes at you, Rey! Ben Solo was making eyes at you!” she practically exclaimed before lowering her voice as more people entered the room, sending them puzzled looks. 

Rey shrugged, “And?” she said, “He is just a guy, Rose, besides I am really not looking for anything right now.”

“Bullshit.” said Rose, in the corner of her eye Rey saw Ben enter the room, she subtly turned, watching as he said good morning to Finn. “Look at you! You are doing it too, the sexual tension is through the roof!”

“Rose!” Rey scolded, shooting a glare at her best friend. 

“What? You were the one complaining about your very tedious dry-spell.”

Rey clapped her hand over Rose’s mouth, “Be quiet.” she said through gritted teeth, her eyes staring into Rose’s mischievous ones before she pulled her hand away to reveal the woman’s smirk. 

“You should go for it,” she said casually as everyone began taking their seats, Ben opposite them beside Amilyn again. Rey felt herself blush slightly as their eyes met, Ben giving her a small wave which she shyly returned. Rose elbowed her in the ribs, jumping Rey out of her temporary daze that Ben had sent her into. “See!” Rose whispered.

Rey shook her head, her eyes trained on the paper in front of her, “No way, Rose, he’s probably just being polite, remember how nice he was to you yesterday?”

A grin spread across Rose’s face, “How could I forget? But trust me, if he was looking at me the way he is looking at you, I’d be climbing him like a tree by now.” 

“Rose!”

“Okay, everyone, let’s start with the Medieval Times,” Amilyn announced as everyone proceeded to turn to the notes, beginning to bounce ideas off each other as they discussed costumes and set. Across the table, Ben was talking animatedly, offering ideas and suggestions whilst performing a line here and there that made the room erupt in laughter.

Rey works diligently, her eyes focused on her notes as she listened to suggestions being thrown around. She and Rose were on that evening’s writing team, she needed to make sure she was prepared and focused, the last thing she needed were any distractions. Especially distractions from someone who would only be around for a week, she certainly wasn’t about to throw her career away for a pair of pretty eyes.

When the lunch break started, Rey made her way to the bathroom to freshen up, splashing some cold water on her face before reapplying her lipstick and mascara, something she rarely did when she was at work. Today she needed it, she was sweating like a bull master. 

Once she felt slightly less ridiculous, she made her way to the break room. During the week, she often went out for lunch with Rose and Finn but most Tuesdays were spent in the writer’s room which meant it was a homemade ham sandwich and a banana. As she made her way down the corridor, she heard voices coming from the break room. She slowed down, listening to figure out who it was, she thought most of the cast had gone out and all the writers were already in the writer’s room. 

Pausing outside, she peered inside, only to see that it was Ben and Hux, the Producer, standing by the fridge, speaking in hushed tones that she had to edge slightly closer to decipher. “The skits are coming along well.” Hux mused. 

“Yeah, I think this is going to be a good show,” Ben replied. 

“I thought Rey’s pitch was one of the best yesterday, had some good humour in it.” said Hux, a small grin quirked her lips as she waited for Ben’s response. 

“It’s good, but I read some of the script.” he said in response, his tone far from the man who had smiled at her from across the table, “I doubt it will be aired, the narrative is good but the writing is very mediocre, maybe if someone else pitched in it could be improved.”

That backstabbing bastard. Rey clenched her fists, fuming as she listened to Hux walk away. She knew Ben Solo was too good to be true, what a dickhead. There was no way in hell this prick was getting away with it. Storming into the room, she made a loud and angry entrance into the room, shooting daggers at Ben’s embarrassed and nervous expression. 

“Rey, I-”

“Save it, Solo, I heard every word.” Rey spat, violently pulling the fridge door open and taking her sandwich and banana. “Do you treat all writers with this amount of respect?”

“Rey, I didn’t mean it like that-”

“I don’t want to hear your fucking excuses!” Rey exclaimed, “You snobby, materialistic, space movie prick. I hope the writers kill you off in the next film.”

“They already did…”

Rey slammed her sandwich down on the counter, she had never felt so angry, this man was infuriating, how dare he act like he was above her? “I really don’t give a fuck, Mr Solo, just stay away from me, I’ll get someone else on the script,” she said.

Ben shook his head, “Don’t you think you are taking this a little too far? I merely suggested some help from another writer could improve your work.” 

“Taking it too far? Hell no, you embarrassed and belittled me in front of my producer. You have no respect for my job, you think everyone is below you because you have been nominated for a couple of awards.” Rey snapped, fury running through her veins. She had worked so damn hard for her job, overcoming a number of obstacles to get to where she was, far more than Ben Solo ever had to, a boy who had everything handed to him on a silver platter. No one was going to take that away from her, no one. 

He moved to rest a hand on her arm, stopping her from storming away. Rey jumped slightly at the contact, his strong and warm hand against her bare arm. There was nothing violent about the gesture, he was in no way hurting her and she could easily break away if she needed to. His pleading eyes stared into her angry glare as she watched his chest heave with his deep and nervous breaths. “Look, won’t you just listen?” Ben asked. 

Rey hesitated, momentarily lost for words. It took a second for her to come back to her senses. No. She most certainly didn’t want to listen to his excuses for insulting her work. Grabbing her stuff, she headed to the door, “Go fuck yourself, Space Boy, I always preferred the clown movie.” 

-🎥-

“Are you sure he wasn’t just making a suggestion? Maybe it just didn’t come out the way he intended.” Rose suggested, cracking open a fortune cookie. 

“Ha, as if. That man is a complete arsehole, Rose, you are only defending him because he’s a celebrity. If he was anyone else, you would be agreeing with me.” Rey argued, moving back and forth across the room, takeaway in hand as she angrily munched on Sweet & Sour Chicken. She had spent the rest of the meeting with the cast pointedly avoiding Ben’s gaze and comments, instead, she invested in knuckling down and writing everything that would be useful when they moved to scriptwriting later in the day. By the time the meeting was finished, she was more than ready to make the game night skit one of the best the show had ever seen. As soon as she sat down with her laptop in the writer’s room with Rose, she had begun. So far she had written… nothing. Her mind was blank. She felt too tense, too angry to write anything humorous. And there was only one person to blame for that. 

“You two were literally eye fucking across the table!” Rose exclaimed, “And now you hate him? Seriously Rey, you and I both know he probably only meant well with what he said.”

Rey hesitated, considering the woman’s comment. He  _ had  _ only said that she maybe required some help, and that the narrative was good, maybe she was blowing things out of proportion… “Well… wait no. Why am I letting you talk me into this? He called my writing mediocre Rose! Mediocre!” Rey slumped down in her seat in front of her laptop, staring at the nearly empty screen. She pulled up her first draft, it had been a rush to get down, she knew it needed a little editing before it was ready for rehearsals. She refused to believe that Ben Solo had a point, even if in the back of her head, she knew that he did. 

“Christ, woman, you are driving me mad with your crush.” Rose muttered, turning to her own laptop.

“It is not a crush!”

“You haven’t shut up about him for the last hour!” Rose argued, “And don’t throw my words back at me, my heart belongs to Kylo Ren, not Ben Solo, well kind of.”

Rey rolled her eyes, “That is so ridiculous, he is a prick and the last person in the world I would ever want to have any romantic engagement with.”

Rose let out a whistle, “Woah, you are really touchy about your writing, remind me never to insult it.” 

“He thinks he is so much better than us because he’s the star.” Rey muttered, violently stuffing a spring roll in her mouth.

“Does he, though?” Rose asked pointedly, “He said the narrative was good, just that the script needs a little work to be the best it can be. God, Rey, you are looking for reasons to be mad at him so you can deny the spark that ignited the moment you two shook hands. Calling your writing mediocre was wrong, but this is going too far, the man had good intentions and you know it.” 

Rey sighed, looking at a particularly dodgy line in the script, it definitely needed some work. If she had been too harsh, it was his own fault, he should learn to keep his mouth shut. “Whatever, we need to get this done. I don’t have time to talk about a star who will stick around for a week and then be on to his next movie.” Rey said dryly, beginning to slam the keys of her laptop. 

Rose laughed, “You can’t even deny it, you are a goner.” 

“I am not.” Rey said through gritted teeth, putting her earphones in and turning David Bowie on, ready to make her script blow the infuriating man’s socks off. 

Rose had finished by nine, printing and dropping it in Amilyn’s office for their director to read over first thing in the morning, before wishing Rey goodnight and heading home. As much as Rey loved Rose, she certainly appreciated the peace and quiet to get on with the script. By the time Rose had left, she had made substantial progress reviewing her dialogue in particular, adapting the jokes and making it the best it could be. She supposed there was a certain level of malice behind her writing, her anger towards Ben Solo fueling the adrenaline that got her through her second draft. 

At eleven o’clock, she sent her script to the printer and began to pack up her stuff. Around her, people were still working away, finalising everything for the table read the next day. After ensuring she hadn’t left anything in her bag, Rey made her way to the copy room. When she entered it, she was surprised to see Hux copying some documents. “Evening, Hux.” she said, slightly pissed off that her friend hadn’t jumped to defend her in the break room, not that she couldn’t fight her own battles of course. 

“Finished your script, Niima?” he asked.

“Mmhm.” said Rey, taking her script from the printer, “Just finished the final edit, turned out pretty well.”

Hux sighed, turning away from the copier, “Look, Rey, about what Solo said,”

“I don’t want to hear it Hux, I’m over it. Let him have his opinions,” she replied. 

“I think he liked your ideas Rey, but your first draft really wasn’t your best work, you’ve been distracted this week,” Hux said gently, his usual authoritative demeanour gone as he spoke. 

Rey stapled the pages of the precious script together, “I guess things have been a little crazy around here since Ben Solo arrived, Rose has gone mad.” Rey said with a dry chuckle. 

Hux looked down at his feet, his expression plaintive, “Does she really really like him?” he asked quietly. 

Rey approached her friend, resting a hand on his shoulder as he looked up at her, “She does, but not like that. Even in crazy fangirl mode, Rose sort of understands that he is just a normal guy, a normal guy who she doesn’t have feelings for.” she gave him a small and hopefully reassuring smile, “But can I suggest that you finally do something about your crush?”

Hux bit his lip nervously, “I don’t know if I can do that, what if I make a fool of myself?”

Rey shook her head, “Have you seen Rose lately? You are the last person in this office making a fool of themselves, trust me.” stepping away, she moved to leave, taking one last look at her friend as a hopeful expression moved across his face, “Don’t make a mistake, Hux, if you don’t try you may regret it.”

“You should try taking your own advice,” he said with a smirk.

“What do you mean?”

“Quit eye-fucking our guest, Niima, even if you have professed your disdain for him, we all know the truth.” 

Rey glared at him before letting out an annoyed groan, storming out the room, “I don’t like him! Arsehole!”

In response, she heard Hux’s laugh echoing down the corridor, following her as she went to drop her priced script in her director’s office, ready to be judged by the vultures...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed please consider leaving comments and kudos!  
> Come say hi:
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/reylotrash711) [Tumblr](https://reylotrash711.tumblr.com/)


	3. Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She pursed her lips, “You don’t have to be here all the time, you know.” she murmured. 
> 
> Ben took a step into the room, his hands stuffed casually in his pockets, “I gave Amilyn a lift, her cars are getting serviced.” he said, “And I wanted to apologise for my behaviour yesterday.” he gestured to the coffee in her hands, “Nothing says forgive me like a morning coffee, I guess.”
> 
> Rey looked down at the coffee in her hands, then back at him, “Thank you.” she said quietly.

On Wednesday, instead of going straight to the writer’s room, Rey stopped by her office to pick up the folder she had left behind the day before. Today was the first read-through and Amilyn had thankfully green-lighted her final draft. When she entered her office, she was surprised to see a coffee sitting next to the folder she had left on her desk the day before. She placed her hand around it, wondering if it was empty and she had simply left it behind the night before. But no. It was hot and full. She brought the beverage to her lips, pleasantly surprised to find it was a mocha, not her favourite but still nice. Which meant it hadn’t been Rose or Finn, and she had seen Hux on her way in so he probably would have mentioned it. She was about to text the writer’s group chat to ask who the mystery coffee buyer was, when someone knocked on the door. Rey turned, only to see Ben Solo standing in the doorway. 

She pursed her lips, “You don’t have to be here all the time, you know.” she murmured. 

Ben took a step into the room, his hands stuffed casually in his pockets, “I gave Amilyn a lift, her cars are getting serviced.” he said, “And I wanted to apologise for my behaviour yesterday.” he gestured to the coffee in her hands, “Nothing says forgive me like a morning coffee, I guess.”

Rey looked down at the coffee in her hands, then back at him, “Thank you.” she said quietly.

“I am really sorry about yesterday, I was out of line.” he said.

Rey nodded, “You were. You were an arsehole.” she said plainly, cringing slightly as she saw the hurt on Ben’s face. This certainly wasn’t one-sided, she had said hurtful things too. “But I was also out of place, I said some things I didn’t mean because I was embarrassed that someone like you thought my work was bad. I’m not surprised of course, you’ve worked with some of the best actors in the world but I-”

“Amilyn showed me your script.” he cut in.

“What?” She knew he was going to read it eventually, but she wasn’t ready for this. 

“She let me read it this morning, I thought it was excellent and I’m not just saying that to make up for yesterday, it was some of the best writing I have ever seen,” he said, his voice earnest as he looked at her with kind eyes and a small smile.

Rey blushed, her gaze meeting his as she tried to form a response, “Well you’re crazy.” she said. He was certainly just trying to flatter her, trying to make her feel better. The man had worked with Rian Johnson! There was no way he liked her work. “You don’t mean that.”

Ben took another step forward, drawing closer to her, “I really do, Rey. I love the script, the changes you made last night fulfilled the potential I knew you had.” 

She was certain her cheeks were practically crimson by now, a small smile quirked her lips, “Thank you.” she repeated, “That means a lot, coming from a-” she paused, searching for the right word. 

“Actor?” Ben suggested.

“Oscar-nominated actor.” Rey corrected him. 

Ben sighed, brushing his hand through his hair, “God, don’t remind me.” he said.

Rey chuckled, gesturing for him to take a seat and following him onto the sofa, “What do you mean?” she asked, “Isn’t it one of the greatest honours in your field?”

“Well, yes…” he began, “But a lot comes with it. The press, the events, the never-ending struggle to find privacy.”

Rey nodded in understanding, for once she was grateful that she was a nobody, “Sorry about Rose.”

Ben shook his head, “No, it’s okay. Rose is sweet, she’s kind. Definitely a little crazy, most fans are, I suppose.” he said, no malice or disapproval in his tone. “The fans make it worth it,, creating something they love and enjoy. I didn’t want the Oscar for myself, I wanted it for them, I guess.” 

Rey gave him a slight smile, “You’re not a bad guy, Ben, and I definitely preferred you to the clown.” she added with a chuckle. 

Ben laughed too, a wide grin spreading across his face that made Rey’s heart jump slightly in her chest, “Nah, he deserved it, his performance was groundbreaking.” 

Reaching out, Rey gave him a clap on the shoulder, “Congrats, you’ve managed to change my opinion of you, it’s not an achievement many people can claim to have fulfilled.” she pulled her hand away, not before noticing the slight shudder from Ben as her hand met his shoulder, the light blush painting his cheeks as she distanced herself from him.

He turned, leaning forward slightly so he was in her space, “I am honoured, Rey, let’s hope you don’t have to change it again.” 

She looked down into her lap, “Well, as long as you aren’t a prick, we should be fine.” 

Ben chuckled, “Alright, deal.” he said.

Looking up at him, Rey stretched out her hand, a peace offering, “Friends?” she asked.

Ben smiled, taking her hand in his and shaking it, just as he had two days before, “Friends.”

-🎥-

The read-through went by smoothly. The skits were all excellent, a range of stories and humour from all the best writers. Rey’s skit was postponed to the next day as they needed to film the space film skit that afternoon. She didn’t mind, she could wait. Especially as it meant she could watch Ben and Finn filming the skit alongside a number of her friends who were regular actors. A number of extras had been brought in, all dressed in costumes similar to those in the film. The scale of the skit was unlike Rey had ever seen before during her time working on the show. 

She sat beside Rose, who Rey was fairly certain was having some kind of breakdown, as the crew prepared for the first scene. “So he brought you coffee and you’re friends now?” she asked.

Rey nodded, “He was very apologetic and you were right yesterday, I did overreact a little.” she admitted, mindlessly doodling in her notebook. 

“Rey Niima, Ben Solo literally brought you coffee, I don’t think I have ever been so jealous.” 

Rey shook her head, smiling like a goof, “We decided from now on we will be friends, I forgave him and now it’s all good. At the end of the week, we will be able to part as friends so I suppose that’s something.”

“That’s something?!” Rose exclaimed, “Rey you are friends with Kylo Ren!”

Rey shook her head, “No, I’m not, I am friends with Ben Solo, a normal guy who happens to be kind and quite sweet.”

Rose rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah, okay. When are you going out?”

“We’re not…”

“Bullshit.” Rose said with a huff, “If one of you doesn’t ask the other out soon, I’ll do it myself.”

Rey raised an eyebrow, “Oh, will you now?”

“Yes, I will.”

Both girls fell into a fit of laughter at Rose’s seriousness. Rey started to wonder if she was shipping her and Ben in the way she shipped Kylo and Kira. She wouldn’t be surprised, judging by how Rose hadn’t shut up about her and Ben and their ‘eye-fucking’ since day one. 

Their tears subsided when Hux walked over to them, “What are you two laughing about?” he asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

Rose smiled, “How I am going to force Rey to go out with Ben Solo.” Rose answered with no shame whatsoever. 

Hux let out a tut of disappointment, shaking his head, “Oh, whatever will we do with you two.” he said with a small chuckle. 

Rose raised a suggestive eyebrow, “Yes, what will you do with me?” she said with a sly grin. Hux’s cheeks turned crimson as he struggled to form words. Rolling her eyes, Rey stood and approached the terrified producer. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she whispered in his ear, “In case you were wondering, now is a perfect time.” 

“Rey, where are you going?” Rose asked curiously as she walked away. 

“Don’t worry, Rose, you’ll thank me for this later.” Rey called back over her shoulder as she made her way into the corridor. She walked away, smiling like a goof, really strangely proud that Hux was finally doing something about his feelings for her friend. Rey had every intention to head back to her office or the writer’s room, but her plans came to a halt when she walked past the dressing rooms and bumped into a certain actor. 

Ben was dressed in his full Kylo Ren regalia, cloak and all. Rey couldn’t help but think about how it made him look rather handsome, she really should watch those space movies. His hair was combed back and the entire costume was black, heavy boots and gloves to complete it. He didn’t look at all like Ben anymore, the man who had brought her coffee that morning dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. No, this man was completely different. 

“Rey?” Ben asked slowly. 

Her eyes darted away from his chest to his face, “Oh, hi.” she said, as casually as she could. 

“Hi.” he said, matching her casual, yet slightly nervous tone. 

“So this is Kylo Ren?”

Ben chuckled nervously, “Yeah, I guess, feels odd dressed as him again after finishing filming months ago. I suppose I missed him a bit.” he said thoughtfully.

Rey smiled, “Well, this certainly makes you look like a mass murderer, is there one of those laser swords?” 

“Lightsaber.” he corrected, “How uncultured you are, Rey.”

“Oh, please, just because I haven’t seen a few silly space movies, doesn’t mean I am uncultured,” she said with mock annoyance. 

Ben shrugged, “Fair enough, and I suppose I’m glad you haven’t seen them.” he said.

Rey raised a curious eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

He sighed, “I guess it means I can have a normal conversation with you, one that doesn’t revolve around three films that seem to be the only things I have ever done.” he answered. Rey nodded, she wondered what it was like to have so many people know your name, so many people desperate to know you. She thought back to when they had been introduced, how Rose had completely lost her shit. How often did he have to deal with that? Did he ever wish he had never gotten the roles that had made him a star? “But you get to have a voice, when you walk into a room everyone will listen to you. Every single person in that writer’s room would write your ideas down immediately.”

Ben paused for a moment before coming to stand slightly closer, “Even you?” he asked.

Rey nodded, “But not because you were in some movie. If they weren’t good ideas, I wouldn’t have written them down.” she said honestly. 

The corner of his lips quirked into a small smile, “Thank you, but I think your work is far better than mine, Rey.”

She barked out a laugh, “Well, of course it is, I am infinitely more talented than you, Solo.” she said sarcastically. 

He rolled his eyes, “I’m serious, if you have any drafts I know a few people who would be interested in your writing.” he moved past her, walking in the direction of the studio. 

Rey’s eyes widened, “Wait, what?” she asked whipping around and watching as he walked away, laughing. “Ben Solo, what do you mean?”

“You’ll see!”

Oh god. Rey had a feeling she wasn’t going to last to the end of the week without either killing or kissing him. He wanted her work… to show ‘people he knew’. What on earth did that mean? She could only presume he meant people high in the industry. Just thinking about that possibility made her feel slightly light-headed. He thought she was good enough, that she could be someone. Her whole life she had been a nobody, nothing. And yet, with him she was slowly starting to feel like somebody...


	4. Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You have big dick energy,” she said to Ben, her tone serious yet slightly tipsy as she had written.
> 
> Ben replied with a sly smirk, giving her a roguish look as he said, “That’s because it is.” If this was any normal conversation, she would be blushing ridiculously, lost for words at the lewd comment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note: I have based Rey's skit off the Adam skit that never aired. It was later in Daniel Craig's episode but personally I didn't find it very funny so the skit I have written is LOOSELY inspired. 
> 
> I also remember I created a playlist which you can listen to [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0dNJsIk7tyvvNDWHpsOtJu?si=c67g7pzYQmW6psWg9DVTTw)

Gwen Phasma called into the office to say she had the flu and would not be able to attend the table reading for the final two skits: Rey’s game night skit, and the skit with the musical number. Another of the female actresses was able to step in for that one and it was able to be recorded without a hitch. However, for the game night skit, Amilyn decided that someone familiar with the script should read Phasma’s parts. And that someone happened to be Rey. 

She felt slightly sick when her director told her the news. Rey was in no way an actress and she had written the character with Phasma in mind, this was going very far out of her comfort zone. She had never acted before in her life, let alone act alongside a two-time oscar-nominated actor who was known worldwide. Rose was ecstatic, of course, insisting that Rey would be brilliant at it. After all, who knew the character better than the writer? To try and calm her nerves, she pretended this was true, reading over the script for what felt like a hundred times that morning. She sincerely hoped that Phasma would be feeling better in time for the rehearsal tomorrow. The last thing she wanted was for Amilyn to decide that she was good enough to perform in the actual skit, be filmed and shown to the entire country. Rey pushed that thought away, Amilyn would never choose her. If it came to it she’d choose Bazine or Kaydel, not the writer. 

There was, of course, something more pressing on her mind. Something that made Rey want to claim to have caught the same flu as Phasma and run home. In the script, she had written for Phasma to make out with Ben. She supposed for actors it was okay, entirely fake as they were used to kissing on screen in front of people. But for Rey, and especially with the interactions she had had with Ben throughout the week, the thought of the upcoming kiss made her feel slightly weak at the knees. 

When she entered the room for the table read, coffee in hand, she casually moved to Ben’s seat, placing the coffee next to his script. Her eyes drifted over it, glancing at where he had written his name in perfect script. Above it, it print was her own: 

GAME NIGHT

BY REY NIIMA

She smiled before walking away, across the table to her own seat. However, when she reached her usual place, a different script labelled ‘Poe Dameron’ was there. Arching an eyebrow, she began to make her way around the circular table, reading each name in search of her own. Eventually, she reached the script next to Ben’s. And of course, of course, it was hers. Nervously biting her lip, she sat down next to Ben’s place, fiddling with the edge of the script as people filed into the room. Poe, Finn and Rose all sat down opposite her. She mouthed a desperate help to Rose, gesturing to the empty seat next to her. Finn and Poe cracked up, winking and making rude gestures at her whilst Rose’s jaw dropped and she let out an excited squeal. 

Rey put her head in her hands, leaning against the table and letting out a tired groan. “Everything okay?” came a voice. 

She shot up, turning to face Ben who was standing with a coffee in hand. “Yup.” Rey said, her voice squeaky and small, “Everything is a-okay.” Seriously, who talked like that? She kicked herself under the table. 

Ben gave her a small smile, “Amilyn told me that you are stepping in to read today.” he said, handing her the coffee.

“Oh thanks, I got you one.” she said gesturing to the cup on the table.

“Thanks.” he said, taking a sip and sitting down next to her, “No need to be nervous, table reads are pretty straight forward, you just have to read the lines and the actors will do the hard work.”

Rey nodded slowly, “Yeah, I guess. Just a little intimidating to read alongside someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” 

“You know what I mean, I’m a writer, surely there is someone else better to do this. Hopefully, Gwen will be back in tomorrow.” Rey said optimistically as she opened her script to the first page.

“Would you be stepping in during the rehearsals if she didn’t make it in tomorrow?” Ben asked.

“Oh no no no, no, I think Kaydel or Bazine would step in.” Rey answered, her eyes flicking to him just as his face began to fall slightly. 

“Oh.” he said slowly, “Makes sense.” He tried to guard his emotions, Rey could tell. But there was nothing to hide the plaintive nature of his tone as he spoke. It sent her head spinning, surely he wanted to work alongside someone who knew what they were doing, not someone as clueless as she was. Rey didn’t know the first thing about acting.

“Morning, everyone.” said Amilyn taking a seat, “I was hoping we could dive straight in this morning with Game Night so we can iron out any adjustments once we have had our first run through. Poe if we could begin with you, that would be great.”

The scene began and Rey felt herself feeling more nervous with each passing line. She tried her best to follow along, knowing they were drawing nearer and nearer to her first line. Rey felt as though she couldn’t breathe that she was going to make a fool of herself. Just as she felt herself begin to lose it, she felt Ben press his foot gently against her own under the table. The movement made her jump slightly before she relaxed, his presence was oddly soothing. They turned to look at each other and Ben delivered his line, “I hope you’re ready to lose, I’m a movie quote master.” he said directly to her.

It clicked, and Rey felt as though she could actually do it, she could get through this table read in one piece, “I hope  _ you  _ are ready to eat your words, my skills match no one else’s.” she said, arching an eyebrow to emphasise her line. 

After that, Rey slowly began to get into it, bouncing off Ben and the other actors with ease. Throughout the scene, Ben’s foot remained next to her own and she found herself edging slightly closer to him, her foot moving against his under the table in a strange yet comforting way. 

By the time they reached the final lines, Rey felt like the scene had flown by, “You have big dick energy.” she said to Ben, her tone serious yet slightly tipsy as she had written.

Ben replied with a sly smirk, giving her a roguish look as he said, “That’s because it is.” If this was any normal conversation, she would be blushing ridiculously, lost for words at the lewd comment. 

“You two are seriously good at this game.” Poe read from across the table, Rey wondered if he also meant the way they were acting. With Ben, this felt easier.

He drew closer to her, “That’s because she is my little quote queen.” 

Rey mirrored his movements, her face coming dangerously close to his, just as the script instructed, “Oh no, it’s all you, my big flick daddy.” she said her last line and felt all the air sucked out of the room. Her gaze flickered to his lips, this was it, this was the moment. According to the script it should have been a sudden movement, instantaneous, this felt like it was a lifetime. 

“Excellent!” Amilyn said, causing Rey and Ben to move quickly away from each other. Rey felt her breath catch in her throat and she turned, Amilyn’s voice a distant sound as she slowly pulled her foot away from Ben’s, blushing like an idiot as she met Rose’s gaze across the table.

She expected the girl to send her another one of her excited squeals, instead, she was looking at Rey with interest like she was trying to decipher something. Rey shrugged and a small smile spread across Rey’s face, a mischievous glint in her eyes as her gaze flickered between her and Ben. It dawned on her then that the other girl knew. Rose knew how much of a goner Rey was and that when the show ended on Saturday night, she wouldn’t quite be the same ever again…

-🎥-

Rey had the script on the set’s coffee table as she practised her movements across the made-up living room, saying her lines to the empty studio. The crew had gone home now, people usually left early on Thursdays to prepare for the busy Fridays and Saturdays. Rey would usually be home by now but instead, she was in the studio practising for the worst-case scenario, if Amilyn asked her to do the scene. A normal person would politely say no and find someone to fill the role for her. But after the table read, Rey doubted she would be able to turn down the role, she had strangely enjoyed acting alongside Ben. 

So here she was, going through the lines she had struggled with throughout the table read, committing them to memory so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself in front of a live audience.

“You have big dick energy,” Rey said aloud, gesturing to who would be on the sofa next to her. 

“That’s because it is.” came a voice from behind her. Rey darted round to see Ben standing awkwardly in the doorway of the set.

She chuckled nervously, “Sorry, I was practising.” 

Ben raised an eyebrow, narrowing his eyes at her, “I thought you said Amilyn was going to choose another actress to fill in for Gwen tomorrow.” 

Rey shrugged, “Well, yes, I suppose but I just thought it would maybe be good to practice anyway.” she said nervously, struggling to find a reason behind it that would make him think she was weird. Who was she kidding? He probably thought that anyway.

“Shall we, then?” he asked, gesturing to the sofa, “That is if you don’t mind practising together?”

Rey shook her head, “No, no, of course not.” she said hurriedly, taking her space on the couch as Ben followed, sitting a little away from her for the beginning of the scene.

They muttered through other people’s lines as they went and Rey had to mentally prepare herself for Ben’s intense gaze when he began, “I hope you’re ready to lose, I’m a movie quote master.” 

“I hope  _ you  _ are ready to eat your words, my skills match no one else’s.”

They moved through the scene effortlessly, only having to peer at the script every few lines for their queues, Ben seemed to have already memorised most people’s lines. Throughout it, he slowly began to edge closer to her, just as the script said. He invaded her space, his leg leaning against her own. Her heart was pounding furiously against her chest, her breath caught in her throat as she made her way through the rest of her lines. She couldn’t help but notice how in character Ben was, despite it being just them, he was giving it 110%, never failing or stumbling as he spoke. She admired him, he truly was a great actor. Maybe he deserved the oscar more than the clown after all…

Rey got to her feet as she mumbled Poe’s line, “You two are seriously good at this game.”

Ben stood with her, coming close as he looked straight into her eyes, speaking loud and clear, “That’s because she is my little quote queen.” 

Rey opened her mouth to deliver her line, her eyes flickering to Ben’s lips as he towered over her, tall and imposing in a way that surprised her by not making her feel crowded or vulnerable. She felt comfortable around him, safe even. The studio was silent, you could hear a pin drop as Ben waited for her to deliver her line. “Oh no, it’s all you, my big flick daddy.” she said, completely out of character as she whispered her line, edging closer to Ben. This is where they should kiss, where they made out. Only, it felt so much more intense and compassionate than a silly skit. 

Ben reached down between them, taking her hand in his. His thumb brushed in circles on the back of her hand, a gesture that sent electricity into Rey’s veins, “We don’t have to.” he whispered.

“What if I want to?” she replied breathlessly. 

Together they slowly closed the space between them, their lips inches apart. Rey’s eyes fluttered closed as she prepared for the feeling of his lips to meet her own. But a voice suddenly filled their ears, “Ben! Rey! I thought I was the only one still here.” 

They practically leapt apart as Amilyn entered the room, her usually pleasant smile across her face, “Am I interrupting something?” she asked curiously, her gaze moving between the two of them. 

Rey shook her head, taking her script off the table and making her way down to the director, “Nope, not at all. We were just rehearsing.” 

“Oh good!” Amilyn exclaimed, “Are you comfortable with the script, Rey? I received a call from Phasma and she really is not well at all. After the table read today, I figured you would be up for doing the actual scene tomorrow, your chemistry with Ben is excellent.” 

Rey blushed at the compliment, “Thank you.” she said slowly, “And I’d love to do the scene, it would be an honour to work alongside the wonderful cast.”

Amilyn nodded in agreement, “Good, it’s decided then.” he gaze moved to Ben, “You okay with that, Benny?” 

He nodded, coming to stand next to Rey with his hands stuffed casually in his pockets, “Sure, sounds great.”

Rey’s eyes moved to Ben and it dawned on her then how real it felt now. Tomorrow she was going to be performing in front of an audience with him,the skit being filmed and ready to air in front of his fans on Saturday night. It was going to be broadcasted nation-wide to thousands of people. It would be uploaded to YouTube and be there forever, there wasn’t any hiding from the reality of it anymore. Her fingers fidgeted with the edge of the script as they ironed out a few last-minute details. 

She tried her best to follow along, but one thought wouldn’t leave her alone. One tiny thing about the scene pestered her as she tried to force it away; it remained firmly at the forefront of her mind. 

The scene had that kiss that wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. By the time the show went live, Rey would’ve kissed Ben Solo. The thought made her more terrified than ever, how was she going to do it without accepting the small feelings that were very quickly catching up on her? Whatever happened, Rey knew he would leave after Saturday and a new guest would walk through the door on Monday morning and Rey really was not ready to say goodbye yet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed please consider leaving comments and kudos!  
> Come say hi:
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/reylotrash711) [Tumblr](https://reylotrash711.tumblr.com/)


	5. Friday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world froze, Ben was so close and she knew exactly what was about to happen as she heard the audience still laughing in the distance. Ben looked down at her, looking into her eyes as he moved his hands to cup her cheeks. And just like that, Rey knew both their masks had slipped away. 
> 
> \---
> 
> Filming Day arrives 👀

“You are the luckiest bitch in the world,” said Rose, sitting on the sofa as she waited for Rey to finish getting dressed.

Rey let out an exasperated laugh as she pulled the shirt over her head. “It’s not even that big of a deal. Sure, I never thought I’d be acting in front of a live audience, let alone with a two-time Oscar-nominated actor, but it will be fun… I think.” she cringed at that last thought. Rey was fucking terrified, she was definitely going to screw this up one way or another. She wasn’t an actress, she was a writer who got lucky when she was hired straight out of university with very little experience. Most of her life was built on luck, a few chances and risks that had turned out okay. Walking out of her abusive foster father Plutt’s house. Moving to New York with very little to her name, only a screenwriting scholarship for New York Film Academy. Her whole life she had been let down, good things only came her way when she had a say in the matter, when she chose to take the risk. This was another one of those risks, a once in a blue moon opportunity that could result in something so good if she dove headfirst into the deep end. 

“Rey, you will do wonderfully, you were great during the table read.” 

“That was in front of people I know! This is a live audience, a room full of strangers who most likely will have no idea who I am!” Rey exclaimed, forcing on the tight jeans and slipping on the small heels. 

“Don’t think of it like that,” Rose said as Rey stepped back into the room, “Think of it like it is just another table read with Poe, Finn and Ben.” 

Rey bit her lip, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, “What if I embarrass him?” she asked. 

Rose got to her feet, moving forward and taking Rey’s hands in her own and giving her a comforting smile, “You won’t, trust me. You know this script better than anyone, you wrote it! No one can do this better than you, Rey, you and Ben have such good chemistry and will blow that audience’s socks off.” 

Rey let out a nervous laugh, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.

“You can’t believe it? Rey, I can’t believe that my best friend is about to go and make-out with  _ the  _ Ben Solo. Do you know how many of my dreams you are living right now?” Rose exclaimed, waving her arms around dramatically. She sighed, smiling as she calmed herself before continuing, “And for what it’s worth, I have a feeling that there will be a lot more behind that kiss tonight.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Rey Niima, you know damn well what I am talking about, don’t even try to deny it. Just remember, that when something good comes along, you should seize it and never let go. Don’t allow yourself to regret not trying.” Rose said earnestly, giving Rey’s hands a gentle squeeze of reassurance. 

Rey nodded slowly, even if she was crazy, Rose knew what she was talking about and only wanted the best for her. Even if it was kissing her celebrity crush in front of a live audience. “Do I look okay?” she asked, straightening the shirt out.

Rose gave her a small smile, “You look lovely, Rey, now let’s go and blow the roof off.” she said, taking her friend’s hand to lead her out of the room. 

Rey rolled her eyes, “You’re acting like this is a life-changing event, it will be over after five minutes.” 

“Oh hush, just let me be excited, this is probably the craziest week of my life. My best fucking friend is acting alongside Ben Solo, I knew it was a good idea to keep you around.” 

“Hey!”

“Don’t act so surprised, now come on, we don’t want to be late,” said Rose, walking with a skip in her step towards the set. Rey paused in the middle of the corridor, taking a deep breath to steel herself, she could do this. She could do this. 

With a pounding heart, she continued, ready to begin what she hoped wasn’t a huge mistake.

-🎥-

Rey entered the set alongside Finn and Poe, immediately being greeted with applause and cheers as the men gave friendly waves to the audience. She felt very disconnected by not following their movements, but she knew no one in the audience knew who she was, it would be weird to act as if they did. She had committed all the notes and script to memory, not to mention all of the many skits she had watched being filmed and produced. But now she was standing in front of so many people, all of them applauding and watching in awe and excitement, she felt like she was frozen in place, unable to move. 

Her head was racing as she looked out at the audience, all of them here to see her centre stage. She felt like she was going to throw up, she really could not do this. Just as she contemplated making a run for it, the audience erupted, jumping up and screaming. She looked out in confusion but her questions were answered when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder and heard a gentle whisper in her ear, “Hey, you okay?” Ben asked gently. 

Rey shook her head, “I’m going to be sick.” she said. 

His hand moved from her shoulder, along the length of her arm before he took her hand in his. The contact made her breath catch in her throat as she turned to him, his gaze pouring into her own. “Relax, it’ll be fine.” he assured her, “Forget everyone else, it’s just me and you. We will get through it, just do exactly like we did yesterday and you will do brilliantly.”

She smiled at him, giving his hand a small squeeze, “Thank you.” she whispered.

He returned her smile, his eyes lighting up in a way that made Rey melt. He had a beautiful smile. Rey hoped she would get to see it again, it felt precious, something she should treasure. She couldn’t deny that it was at the forefront of her mind as the audience fell silent and they moved to their places.

Everything felt very real, she heard the word action and took a harsh breath as the scene began. Just as she had in the table room, she felt herself begin to panic, trying her best to hide it as she sat casually next to Ben on the sofa, glass in hand.

“I hope you’re ready to lose, I’m a movie quote master.” Ben said to her, the mask of his character firmly in place. 

Rey followed his lead, placing on her own mask as she spoke, “I hope  _ you  _ are ready to eat your words, my skills match no one else’s.”

The skit was in full swing, the audience thankfully laughing at all the right moments, everyone delivered with practice ease and she felt herself settle into it as Ben slowly edged closer to her on the couch. It made her heart beat furiously as she felt his presence enter her space. It was intoxicating, he was everywhere, filling all her senses as the scene progressed.

“You have big dick energy.” she said to Ben, earning an eruption of laughter from the audience along with a few whistles here and there. 

“That’s because it is.”

It took a few moments for the audience to recover from that as Rey got to her feet whilst Poe delivered his line “You two are seriously good at this game.”

Ben stood up behind her, “That’s because she is my little quote queen.” 

Rey turned, smirking at him as she said her last line, “Oh no, it’s all you, my big flick daddy.”

The world froze, Ben was so close and she knew exactly what was about to happen as she heard the audience still laughing in the distance. Ben looked down at her, looking into her eyes as he moved his hands to cup her cheeks. And just like that, Rey knew both their masks had slipped away. 

Ben did just as written in the script. He closed the space between them, his lips meeting her own in a passionate kiss. There was a sound familiar to whooping in the distance as Rey returned the kiss, her hands moving to clutch at his shirt as she tried her best to ground herself as he deepened the kiss, sending her head spinning. 

It felt like hours, glorious hours as she allowed him to trap her in his hungry and passionate embrace, his soft lips moving against her own. In reality, it was only a few seconds before Amilyn yelled cut and the audience got to their feet, applauding as Rey slowly pulled away from the kiss, her eyes fluttering open as she attempted to regain her breath, feeling dizzy as they separated, hands falling away from each other as they took steps back. 

Ben looked a mess, looking at her with a deep gaze as he too tried to pull himself together. Only when Amilyn announced everything was fine and the scene was perfect did Rey break eye contact. It had been so intense, felt so real, even if her sensible brain was telling her it wasn’t. He was an actor, he had kissed countless women on many occasions, she was just another to add to the list. The thought made a horribly plaintive feeling wash over her. So, she did the only reasonable thing a person could do in that situation, she ran.

-🎥-

She slammed the door to Phasma’s dressing room, finally safe. Slumping down on the sofa, she put her head in her hands, trying to get her mind to slow down as she tried to process the goddamn kiss. It had felt real, so wonderfully real. It hurt that it wasn’t. For god’s sake, she was the one who had written it! 

With a groan, she got to her feet and moved to the small fridge, opening it in search of a drink. Phasma usually always had  _ something _ in her fridge. Much to her dismay, there was nothing and she slammed the door with an annoyed huff, her eyes searching the room for anything that would help take her mind off what had just happened.

She felt like a mess, her feelings all over the place. The memory of his lips was permanently imprinted on her lips, no doubt scarring them. Reaching up, she brushed her fingers against them, breathing heavily as she recalled the passion and underlying hunger in Ben’s kiss. 

Just as she was going to fall back onto the sofa and scream into one of the cushions, there was a knock on the dressing room door. With a sigh, she moved to answer it, opening it as she said, “Rose, if you are here to fangirl like crazy I am really not in the mood to-” she paused when she saw who was standing on the other side, “Oh.” Ben stood still in costume, he stood with hands stuffed casually in his pockets, shifting awkwardly on his feet. 

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied, slightly lost on how else she could begin as she stood opposite him, her hand holding onto the door for dear life. 

He looked just as she felt, eyes lost and slightly confused as he bit his lip. Her eyes had a mind of her own as she looked down at his lips, the lips that she had kissed less than an hour before. The lips she desperately wanted to kiss again.

“You did really great today,” said Ben, breaking the awkward silence between them, however, the underlying tension between them remained. 

“Thank you.” she replied, “As always your performance was great.”

Ben nodded slowly, looking up at her to meet her gaze, “I was wondering if I could come in.” he asked hesitantly.

“Of course.” Rey found herself replying, stepping aside so Ben could enter the small dressing room. She closed the door behind him, pausing to take a deep breath before turning to face him. “I think it went well.” she said.

“It did, Rey you, were wonderful, you delivered every line perfectly.” 

She blushed, dropping her face to look down at her feet. Maybe what she said next was a bad idea, or maybe it was something that would eat away at her conscious if she left it unsaid, “You were good too, that kiss almost felt real.” her voice was quiet and timid as she purposely avoided his gaze.

He stepped closer to her, his feet moving into her line of sight as her gaze remained fixated on the floor. She laughed nervously, “Which I know sounds ridiculous and I must sound like such an idiot.” she exasperated, walking away from him to try and regain her composure. 

“Wait,” he said, breaking her train of thoughts as he took hold of her hand. Her eyes darted to meet his and she was met with his intense gaze that seemed to look straight into her soul. His hand was strong and warm as it encompassed her, his thumb tracing circles on the inside of her wrist, calming her erratic mind. 

“It wasn’t.” he blurted out.

“What do you mean?” she breathed.

“It wasn’t fake.” he said, “It was so incredibly real, Rey, and it’s something I have wanted to do since the moment we shook hands on Monday morning.” 

Ben leaned closer to her as a grin appeared on her lips, her mind was a mess as she took in his words. She could only find one logical and reasonable thing to do. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek, gently caressing it as she stepped onto her tiptoes and closed the space between them. 

The kiss was gentle and slow, so unlike the passion on stage. This was sweet, a tender embrace that made Rey feel dizzy. It felt just like him, so incredibly Ben and she was drunk on the feeling of him holding her. 

She slowly pulled away, her eyes searching his for a reaction, a sign to tell her what he was thinking. To her relief, he smiled, brushing a strand of hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. “Wow,” he whispered.

“Could we maybe do that again?” Rey asked.

Ben let out a chuckle, “I hope so because I definitely intend to.”

Rey surged forward, kissing him with more fervour this time, reaching up to tug on his hair and pull him closer to her. Ben let out a groan into the kiss as she pulled on his raven locks, reaching down, he lifted her into his arms. Her legs found their way around his waist. They moved in an established dance, certain and sure of their movements as he deepened the kiss. Rey felt like she was on fire, kissing him like he was the first water she had encountered after a week in the desert. 

She never wanted to stop, not now that she had a taste of him. He was driving her crazy, his hands on her hips as he returned her passionate kiss, both of them hungry and desperate for more. A moan escaped her and she felt herself melt in his embrace. When he pulled away, she almost whimpered at the loss. But when he looked into her eyes, breathing heavily as they tried to pull themselves together, she knew that he was the only man she wanted to kiss and she saw the same in his eyes.

“Tomorrow?” he asked desperately. 

Rey nodded, “Tomorrow.”


	6. Saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At one point, he walked straight up to the camera, pulling a stupid face as he moved his face right up to the lens. Rey snorted at that, nearly choking on her bottle of water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Choo Choo the smut train has arrived 🚂   
> This is where we earn our E rating! This is my first time posting smut so aghhhhhh

“Ladies and gentlemen, Ben Solo!” 

The audience erupted, cheering and applauding as Ben made his way onto the stage, waving and tanking the audience as he took his place. “Thank you, thank you!” he said, “I am so happy to be hosting the first show of 2020!” More whoops and shouts of the crowd. Rey watched from backstage with a smile across her face, her eyes fixated on Ben as he addressed the audience with ease. 

“I have to say, I am a little sad to say goodbye to 2019 because I acted so much and so hard.” he said, a mocking plaintive nature to his voice that made a round of chuckles float across the audience, “In all these movies. I was yelling, crying, I punched, I sang. All four emotions and people assume I’m just like the characters I play who are really serious, private and intimidating guys like Adam from Girls or Kylo Ren from Space One.” At the mention of “Space One” more cheers came from the audience, in particular, the people who Rey assumed were the Kylo Ren stans that Rose had mentioned. 

“But you see I am not an intense guy!” Ben argued, “I am actually very chill.” Rey rolled her eyes at that, a smirk across her face, he certainly hadn’t been chill when he was kissing her senseless the night before. She felt her cheeks heat up at the memory. 

“So tonight, I’m just going to be myself, open up a bit and be chill.” he turned to the band, “Can I get some chill music?” 

Rey couldn’t stop laughing throughout Ben’s monologue. For someone who took on so many serious and moody roles, he was hilarious and Rey had stitches in her sides from laughing too much. At one point, he walked straight up to the camera, pulling a stupid face as he moved his face right up to the lens. Rey snorted at that, nearly choking on her bottle of water. He was acting like such a goofball, seemed so at ease. She had seen his interviews, often quite tense and uncomfortable. But the man before her was an entirely different person. Part of it was of course for show, but beneath that, Ben seemed to be really having a good time. It made her smile, after everything he had said about how he felt in the limelight, she was pleased to see that he was comfortable standing in front of so many people, laughing about utterly ridiculous things. 

“What else?” Ben contemplated, “Oh yes! I met a wonderful girl. She is so beautiful, so I really hope she won’t mind the fact I’m doing dry January which means you don’t take a bath. Isn’t too hard…” 

Rey’s eyes widened at that, did he mean her? She really hoped he meant her. 

As Ben’s monologue came to a close, the audience broke into more applause, so much so that Ben had to shout to tell the camera they would be back after the break. Once the cameras had cut, he walked off the stage, waving as he went. When he made his way backstage, many of the actors and crew gave him claps on the back, congratulating him and telling him how funny he had been. Rey kept a distance. After their heated kiss the night before, they had said goodnight and parted ways, a strange level of timidness and anticipation between them. Neither was quite sure what the other wanted, was it just a sexual thing? Or were feelings developing? Rey knew how she felt, even with all the complications it brought, she wanted something with Ben. She wanted to see where things would go if they potentially pursued a relationship or started dating. The idea excited her, made her heart jump in her chest as she thought about it. 

She turned to Ben, meeting his gaze as he gave her a small nod. She did the same, smiling slightly. Was it a signal? An understanding between them? Rey felt confused, the idea of him leaving tonight once the show was over and never looking back was a very real possibility, she hated it. It wouldn’t be her place to plead for him to stay. Even if they were in the same industry, they were from two different worlds. He was adored by hundreds across the world and she was a writer who had gotten lucky. 

Rey thought of her very few past relationships, they had all left eventually, all walked out for various reasons. Sometimes they found something better, chose something over her, some simply lost interest but a few were rarely interested in the first place. Rey didn’t really let it get to her, she was used to being tossed aside and forgotten, she had her parents to thank for that. It made her contemplate why Ben would be any different. Surely he was more likely to walk out because of his job, because he had a life she could only imagine with so many people after his attention. She felt sick to her stomach.

For the rest of the show, Rey kept her distance, watching as multiple people pulled him aside. Each time he seemed to make a move towards her, he was intercepted by a crew member congratulating him or complimenting his opening monologue. She wanted to see him, to express how impressed she was with his humour in the monologue, anything that would mean she could talk to him. Her attempts to talk to him were brushed aside as people barged past her. Rey’s heart fell, she wondered if this was how it would always be with him, that there was always someone in the way. Always someone who had his focus over her. 

She didn’t know if she could face that kind of disappointment. If he left without saying goodbye, maybe things would be easier. At the end of the show, she left straight away. She didn’t hang around, yes she was in one of the skits but that didn’t make her a notable face. No one would remember her anyway, she was nobody, nothing…

-🎥-

When Rey reached her office, she knew people would be on their way to the after-party, she didn’t quite feel like it tonight. She slumped into her seat at her desk, reaching for the script on it.

GAME NIGHT   
BY REY NIIMA

She sighed, she wouldn’t forget this one, all the wonderful memories that had been created during the process of producing it. Rey had a feeling it would be one of her favourites in the years together. Lifting it up, she pressed a kiss on the top of the paper, a small smile across her face as she opened the bottom, empty draw of her desk. Taking a deep breath, she placed the folder inside before shutting it. There. It was over now. On Sunday there would be a new guest, new scripts, a fresh start. There would be no distractions, no Ben Solo to send her mind spinning. He’d probably be halfway around the world on another set by the time she got into work on Monday, he had mentioned he was due to be working in France soon.

A tear ran down her cheek, she really would miss Ben once he was gone. More tears streamed down her face as she let out a sob, she really hated it when people left. 

“Rey?”

She froze, breath catching in her throat as she looked up to see Ben standing in the doorway of her office, a plaintive and worried look across his face. Rey shot to her feet, hurriedly wiping away her tears as Ben stepped into the room, “Are you okay?” he asked slowly.

“Shouldn’t you be at the after-party?” she cut in, pointedly avoiding his question. 

“I could ask you the same question,” he answered.

Rey leant against the table to stop her knees from buckling, taking a deep breath before coming clean, she couldn’t lie to him, “I couldn’t say goodbye to you,” she said, her voice breaking as she spoke, “I don’t want to watch you leave, Ben, after everything that has happened this week, I can’t.”

Ben walked around her desk, coming to stand with her, incredibly close in a way that made her once again recall the events of the night before. To her surprise, a smile broke across his face, “Who said anything about saying goodbye?” he asked, “I’m not letting you go, Rey. The last week has sent my whole world upside down, you stormed into it completely unannounced, spoke to me in a way no one else would. And after yesterday, the kiss on and off stage has made me realise that something this great doesn’t come along all that often.” 

“Ben I-”

He didn’t pause as she tried to cut in, instead, he took her hands and spoke to her with pleading eyes, “Send me away now if that kiss didn’t mean anything to you, but we both know that isn’t true. I should do this properly, so, Rey, would you like to go to dinner with me sometime?” he asked.

A smile broke across Rey’s face and she nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, I would love to.” 

The smile from Ben that followed, mirrored her own as he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. It wasn’t quite what Rey had expected him to do but if it meant they would be going on a date in the near future, she’d take it. Pulling out her own phone, they exchanged numbers, sending each other a text so they’d remember the contact. 

As they put their phones away, silence came over them again, both too nervous to make the first step along a path that Rey knew was going to be a beautiful one, well, she was hoping it was, it being with Ben was certainly reassuring. 

“So I guess I’ll call you?” said Ben. 

Rey nodded, “Sure, I guess you know my working hours by now so whenever you are also free would be great.”

Ben smiled, “Is tomorrow night too early?” he asked slowly.

Rey chuckled, shaking her head, “Tomorrow sounds perfect, text me the place and time, I’ll be there.”

“Okay, cool.” he replied, brushing his hand through his hair in a way that made Rey wish she was tugging on it to bring his lips closer to her own. But Ben slowly began to step away, gesturing to the door, “It’s late, I better get going.” he said awkwardly.

She nodded in agreement, “Yeah, yeah, of course, busy week and all that.” she said, trying her best to mask her disappointment at him walking away. 

_ Please stay, _ her mind whispered.

She forced it away, she wasn’t some lovesick teenager, she could wait. But as Ben turned, she felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She really didn’t want him to go.

He froze in the doorway and for a moment Rey thought he had read her mind. Ben might as well have done because he turned abruptly, taking long strides across the room towards her. When he was in front of her, he moved without hesitation, cupping her cheeks and kissing her. 

Rey responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she passionately returned the kiss, doing just as she desired and running her hands through his hair, making an absolute mess of it as the kiss deepened. Nothing had felt so right. She had kissed people in the past, but it had never been like this, the spark that ignited something deep within her core. 

Ben pulled back a short distance, “Coming to think about it, I think Sunday is far too long to wait.” he said breathlessly before pressing another kiss to her lips.

Rey pulled back to answer, “I agree, much too late.” she said as his lips trailed along her jaw, moving to attack her neck with desperate kisses that made her release a low moan of approval.

“Your place or mine?” he asked.

“Mine, let’s get out of here,” she said hurriedly, there was no time to waste now. She had a feeling they had both been waiting a while for this. Clutching his hand, she pulled him from her office and darted down the corridor in the direction of what she was beginning to think was one of the best decisions she had ever made. 

-🎥-

Carrying Rey in his arms as she pressed kisses along his neck, Ben slammed open her bedroom door, throwing her down onto the bed before crawling on top of her and resuming their kiss. The journey to her apartment had taken far too long, both of them desperate the whole way to get their hands on each other. But travelling with Ben meant her journey took even longer than usual as they carefully avoided the curious gazes of people who would recognise him. When they finally made it to Rey’s apartment, neither of them had any self-control left. Their coats and shoes were discarded as soon as they made it through the front door so Rey immediately went straight for the buttons of Ben’s shirt. 

He hurried to help her before throwing it to the floor, revealing his sculpted chest to her. Rey ran her hands along his abdomen, biting her lip as she appreciated his figure. “Wow.” she breathed as Ben chuckled, pressing another kiss to her lips as he moved to tug on her own shirt, a silent question. Rey moved immediately, pulling the offending garment straight off before allowing it to follow Ben’s shirt, noticing how Ben’s hands immediately went to cup her breast through her plain white, completely unsexy, bra. He didn’t seem to mind though as he looked at them with a sense of wonder in his eyes.

It wasn’t long before the rest of their clothes followed, ending up across the room as they tossed them aside without a second thought, focusing entirely on each other as they searched each other with wandering hands. Left only in her underwear, Rey pulled back from the kiss, searching his eyes as she spoke, “Are you sure about this?” she asked slowly, still a little unable to believe that they had found themselves here. 

Ben nodded, “I have never been more sure about anything.” he said firmly, giving her all the assurance she needed in his intense gaze. Rey smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips. His hands reached up to undo her bra, slowly pulling it off to reveal her breasts before tossing it aside, pressing gentle kisses to the swell of her breasts, his lips caressing her nipples in a way that made her back arch off the bed. 

His hands trailed down her hips until he reached her panties. Hooking his fingers into the band, he slowly pulled them down her legs before she kicked them off. He tore his lips away from her breasts, looking down as he slowly brushed a finger against her folds. Rey gasped and he looked at her in awe, “Christ, Rey, you are so wet.” he said, “So wet, for me.”

He lay down on his back, tugging her over him as she let out a squeak of surprise, her knees falling either side of his face so her heat was hovering above him. “I need to taste you.” he said, hands clutching her thighs. She nearly collapsed when his tongue came into contact with her flesh, moving tentatively along her folds before circling her clit making her grab onto the headboard to steady herself.

Only a few past lovers had taken the time to try and pleasure her in this way, each time it had been a mess and very unsatisfying. But Ben, oh god with Ben it felt incredible as he licked and sucked at her. Reaching up, he teased her entrance before inserting a finger, resulting in Rey letting out a series of moans. One of his fingers felt like two of her own as it moved in her, curling to rub against the spot that made her shout and her legs shaking. “Fuck… Ben, I’m close!”

“Do it, baby.” Ben demanded, licking her clit as he inserted another finger. 

Rey clenched down on his fingers, almost screaming as she orgasmed with his lips moving along her folds and his fingers deep within her. She saw stars, holding onto the headboard for dear life as she experienced the most intense orgasm of her life. She was gasping for breath as Ben worked her through it, hands placed firmly on her hips as he held her in place.

As she came down from her high, he began to slow his movements, pressing a final kiss to her clit before allowing her to collapse into the pillows. He crawled over her as she pulled him in for a searing kiss, hands wandering in the direction of his groin. Reaching into his underwear, she took hold of him. Ben broke the kiss, letting out a groan as she moved her hand up and down his hard length.

“I’m clean and on the pill.” Rey choked out hurriedly, “Unless this is as far as you want to go tonight.”

Ben shook his head, tugging off his underwear, “I’m clean, I want this Rey, I want you.” he breathed, cupping her face with his hands, “I really, really like you, Rey.”

Rey smiled, pressing a short but sweet kiss to his lips, “I really like you too.”

Placing a hand on his chest, she pushed Ben into the bed before straddling his hips, her heat brushing tantalising close to his length. Ben let out a breathless moan, clutching at her hips as she slowly began to lower herself on to him. He was so big, Rey took her time, allowing him to stretch her as she took him deeper. They let out a content sigh once he was buried to the hilt, both of them breathing heavily as they tried to compose themselves. 

Reaching to her hips, Rey took Ben’s hands in her own, entwining their fingers as she began to rock against him. She guided her hips up and down, savouring the feeling of him inside her. She had never felt so wonderfully full as they moved together, slow at first before speeding up.

“Fuck- harder, Ben,” Rey called out, moving up and down on his dick with reckless abandon. Ben sat up, lifting his hips to meet her own as he attacked her neck with his lips, sucking a bite where her neck matched her shoulder. Breaking her hands from his, Rey wove them into his hair, pulling him up to meet her lips, giving him a hungry and passionate kiss as she sensed them both drawing closer and closer to their peaks. 

“Rey- fuck, Rey, you feel so good.” Ben moved, his fingers moving down to attack her clit, rubbing circles against it as Rey nearly screamed in pleasure, her senses overwhelmed by him. She couldn’t think, she could only feel as he came undone beneath her, releasing inside her with a guttural moan. She followed shortly after, clenching down on him as she reached completion. 

She collapsed on top of him, gasping to catch her breath as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as they came down from their high. His fingers moved through her hair, stroking it gently as they slowly came back to themselves.

Rey felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, her eyes fluttering closed as she felt Ben pull the sheets over them, pressing a kiss to her forehead before whispering, “Goodnight, Rey.”

A smile broke across her face as she fell into the clutches of sleep, her dreams painted with the image of Ben and his beautiful smile, his soft touch and gentle kisses. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed please consider leaving comments and kudos!  
> Come say hi:
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/reylotrash711) [Tumblr](https://reylotrash711.tumblr.com/)


	7. Sunday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey bit her lip, appreciating the muscles of his back, his broad shoulders and strong arms made heat build-up in her core. She looked down, glaring at her body, did she have no self-control?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! The final chapter! Hope you enjoy x
> 
> Another huge thank you to Cecilia for beta reading this fic!  
> You can check out her [AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceciliasheplin/works) to read her amazing fics and stories especially her new story [Summer Solstice](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25157626/chapters/60961654)

Rey woke to a soreness between her legs, but one that made her smile despite it. As her eyes fluttered open, she was disappointed to see that she was lying alone in bed, with Ben nowhere in sight. She frowned, had he woken up in the night and left? Pulling back the sheets, she got to her feet, only to see a number of clothes tossed across the floor, some of which were not her own. A smile quirked her lips, perhaps she wasn’t alone after all. Spotting Ben’s shirt on the floor, she scooped it up and pulled it on. It was of course far too large for her, but still only just covered her butt. Retrieving her panties from the floor, she pulled them on before moving to her dresser. 

She caught her reflection in the mirror, the shit-eating grin across her face as she let out a nervous giggle. Last night had been the best sex of her life, she certainly hoped Ben was up for round two this morning because she wasn’t sure whether or not she would be able to keep her hands off him. 

As she pulled a brush through her knotted and messy hair, the delicious smell of bacon caught her attention. Ben Solo was good in bed  _ and  _ he cooked, Rey was starting to feel like the luckiest girl in the world. She practically leapt to her feet, throwing open her bedroom door and making her way into the kitchen where Ben was standing shirtless, only in jeans as he flipped a pancake over the hob. Rey bit her lip, appreciating the muscles of his back, his broad shoulders and strong arms made heat build-up in her core. She looked down, glaring at her body, did she have no self-control?

“Good morning.” came Ben’s voice. 

Rey looked up, meeting his warm smile. “Hey,” she replied almost timidly. 

The pair of them stood smiling at each other, still feeling happy and content from the night before. Rey briefly contemplated running at him and kissing him senseless before dragging him back to bed. Unfortunately, the smell of burning interrupted her train of thoughts. Her gaze fell behind him and she gestured to the frying pan, “Your pancakes are burning.” 

“Oh, crap,” Ben muttered, turning back to the hob to try and rescue the pancakes, stacking them on a plate with the bacon. Rey grinned, moving over to the counter when she saw a piece of paper resting on it, a number scrawled across the top. Lifting it from the counter, she raised an eyebrow, turning to Ben, “What’s this?” she asked curiously as he brought the pancakes and two forks over. 

“A number for an Oscar-winning director,” he said casually, taking the first bite of pancake and bacon, “He wants to speak to you.” Her whole world came to a halt, her heart pounding as she tried to comprehend what he meant.

Rey’s jaw dropped, “What are you talking about, Ben Solo?” 

He smiled, “After our argument, I asked Holdo for some of your scripts, I wanted to make it up to you. So I sent them to a friend and well, he liked what he read.” 

She must have been dreaming. Things this good didn’t happen to her, there was no way. But as she looked at Ben, she knew it wasn’t a prank or joke, he was completely serious about this. 

Dropping the paper on the counter, Rey covered her mouth in shock, shaking her head in disbelief. Ben’s face fell and he placed his fork down, looking at her with an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry for going behind your back, I just wanted to make you happy.” he said hurriedly. 

This man. Without giving him a chance to continue, Rey grabbed him by the jaw and pulled him down to kiss her. It was hurried and messy, but perfect as she showed him how thankful she was through the press of her lips against his. Ben pulled back, “You’re not mad?”

Rey chuckled, shaking her head, “Of course not! I can’t believe it, but I am so so so happy.” she said, pressing kisses all over his face, “You are truly wonderful, Ben Solo.”

Ben smiled at her, “I’m glad you think so.” he said, “But you deserve this, Rey, you are an amazing writer and I know you are going to do amazing things.”

She rolled her eyes in response, “Yeah, yeah whatever, get your clothes off now.” she demanded, already unbuttoning his shirt, “There is no way I am finished with you yet.”

He chuckled, pressing a slow, sweet kiss to her lips, “Good, because I am not leaving any time soon.”

“Perfect.” she said with a chuckle before dragging him back to her bedroom.

\---

_ Three Years Later _

“Ladies and gentlemen, Ben Solo!”

Ben Solo walked out onto the SNL stage, waving at the audience as he took his place, “Good evening! Thank you, thank you!” he said as the audience began to quiet down, “I am so happy to be back after so long.” the audience applauded and cheered as a genuine smile spread across Ben’s face. “A lot has happened since I was last here, I won an Oscar!” more cheers and screams (from the stans in particular) “That was such an honour but what made it even better was that my wonderful girlfriend who I met here three years ago won her first for Best Original Screenplay for the same film I won best actor for.”

He looked in the direction of backstage where she was standing, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Ben never shut up about the Oscar she had won almost a year ago, he didn’t give a damn that he had one too, it was always about her. As Ben continued his opening monologue, she looked around the place she had sat three years before, watching him talk about how chill he was. As Ben said, so much had happened since then. Rey had got her first job on a film, they moved in together, they put their Oscars side by side above the fireplace and of course, they fell in love. Ben Solo was her world, she couldn’t be more grateful for everything the past three years had brought. Of course, there had been ups and downs, but they made it through everything hand in hand. As long as they loved each other, everything would be fine. 

When they had moved in together two years ago, Rose had nearly passed out when Rey told her. After that Rey said she wasn’t allowed to visit until she calmed down a bit. It being Rose, it of course only took three days, she pulled things together and now her and Ben were practically best friends. Rose still had her obsessions, she still read fanfiction and watched the films on loop (except the last one obviously) and Rey often caught her asking Ben questions about the films. He didn’t mind, of course, introducing her on a few occasions to other actors and letting her hold the lightsaber he had stolen from the set of the final film. 

Hux had finally asked Rose out on a date and after 2 years of dating, Rose was the one to propose to Hux, insisting that otherwise they would never get married. With Ben’s help, Hux started his own studio, producing indie films in LA and employing his wife as his favourite writer. Rey often missed her friends after she and Ben had opted to remain in Brooklyn after their friends moved out to the west coast. They still spoke regularly, video calls and daily memes were constant. There had been a time in her life where Rey would have felt like her friends were leaving her behind because they no longer cared about her, but Ben had taught her that it was far from the truth, that goodbyes weren’t always forever.

Looking back to the stage, she noticed that Ben’s humorous act had slipped slightly, “Okay, everyone, I know this isn’t usually how I start the show but I need your help. I need to ask my girlfriend Rey a really important question, and I really need her to say yes.” his gaze shifted to her and smiled, “I promise it’s not about whether or not leaving the toilet seat open is actually a good idea.”

The audience broke into laughter as Ben gestured for Rey to join him on the stage. Behind her, the crew encouraged her to do so and she blushed before taking a deep breath and walking out. The audience cheered for her and she took Ben’s hand, utterly confused as he led her to the centre of the stage. It seemed as though he had something planned and she couldn’t help but feel hopeful at the mention of an important question. 

“Right, I’ve got the girlfriend… what next?” Ben said thoughtfully, “Ah yes, we need music.” he turned to the band and they began to play, much to Rey’s surprise, her favourite song. As Just the way you are by Bruno Mars played, Ben turned to the audience. “Now, I need all of you to help Rey out here because she is terrible at decision making.” 

Ben reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box that made the audience release a series of awwws. Rey’s eyes widened, her heart pounding as Ben made his way onto one knee in front of her. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she looked down at Ben opening the box to reveal a beautiful ring. “Rey, I am fairly certain I have loved you since the first moment I met you. Every day since my third episode aired three years ago, I have been searching for a way to tell you exactly how I feel. Today I think I am finally doing it right.” 

He lifted the box, “So kneeling here in front of all these people, I am asking you this, will you marry me, Rey?” 

The audience made noises of encouragement, shouting things such as ‘Say yes!’ 

But Rey’s mind was already made up. She nodded, choking back tears as she gave Ben her answer, “Yes!” 

The audience got to their feet, clapping and cheering as Ben slipped the ring on her finger before standing up and pulling her in for a kiss. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Rey returned his kiss as she heard the director shout cut and the show went to the ad break.

When she pulled her lips away from Ben’s she shook her head, laughing at how dramatic and ridiculous this whole thing was. “You are a strange man, Ben Solo.” she said, “What is all this?”

Ben smiled mischievously, “I couldn’t keep this lowkey, I want the whole world to know how much I love you, Rey.”

“So you came back to the show just for this?” she asked, “I am downright terrified at what you have planned for our wedding.”

Ben shrugged, “Don’t worry, it will be just like a SNL skit.”

Rey rolled her eyes, pulling him for another kiss, more than ready to spend the rest of her life with Ben Solo at her side. 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this fic and for all of the wonderful comments and kudos! You can follow me here on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/reylotrash711)for updates!


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